Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alexander Mark David "Alex" Oxlade-Chamberlain (born 15 August 1993) is an English international footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liverpool, having arrived from rivals Arsenal for £35,000,000 in 2017. Liverpool career Reports of Liverpool first being interested in Chamberlain first began to come through just before the end of the 2016-17 season. In that season Liverpool were at a time left with no actual wingers, due to Sadio Mane's international commitments, as well as a lack of depth in midfield. Due to Chamberlain's versatility and high work rate, it made sense that Jurgen Klopp would make an effort to bring him to Anfield. On 28 August 2017, Chamberlain handed in a transfer request to Arsenal, with a £40,000,000 offer from Chelsea being accepted later that day. The next day however, Chamberlain turned down Chelsea's offer, instead saying that he would only like to move to Liverpool. On 30 August it was reported that Liverpool had an offer of £35,000,000 accepted, and that the winger was to have a medical later that day. On 31 August 2017, it was confirmed that Chamberlain had signed for Liverpool on a six-year deal, with reported wages of around £120,000 per week. Manager Jurgen Klopp said "“He may still be young but he has a lot of experience in the Premier League, Champions League and for his country. Already he is a very, very good player and I think he has the mentality and desire to get even better - and that excites me." Chamberlain made his debut on 9 September, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 5-0 defeat to Man City. He then came on from the bench in the Reds’ next two games, before finally starting on 19 September 2017, a 2-0 League Cup defeat to Leicester. On 17 October 2017, Chamberlain scored his first goal for the club, coming on as a substitute to finish Liverpool's sixth in an eventual 7-0 Champions League win away to Maribor. On 4 November 2017, Chamberlain finally made his first Premier League start, a 4-1 win away to West Ham. Chamberlain put in a very impressive performance, and scored Liverpool's third of the game. On 5 January 2018, Chamberlain put in an impressive performance in the Merseyside Derby, and late on assisted Virgil van Dijk’s debut winner with a fine corner. Just over a week later, Chamberlain continued his recent good form, opening the scoring in a 4-3 win over Man City with a well placed strike from the edge of the area. He also assisted Roberto Firmino’s goal, which gave the Reds the lead for the second time. After being in and out of the team over the past month, on 4 April, Chamberlain scored his fifth goal of the season, smashing in Liverpool’s second in a 3-0 Champions League win over Manchester City with a ferocious effort from 25 yards. Three weeks later, he started in the semi-final first leg, a 5-2 win over Roma. Early on in the game however, he went into a challenge and picked up an injury, forcing him to be substituted after just 15 minutes. It was later revealed that he had suffered damage to multiple ligaments in his knee, set to keep him out for most of the following season. Having gone 367 days without making a single appearance, Chamberlain finally made his return to action on 26 April 2019, coming on as a substitute in a 5-0 win over Huddersfield. He continued to be eased back in with another substitute appearance on the final day, a 2-0 win over Wolves. During pre-season, Chamberlain took the number 15 shirt ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, recently vacated by Daniel Sturridge. He made his first appearance of the season in the Community Shield, coming off the bench and scoring his penalty in a shootout defeat to Manchester City. On 14 August 2019, Oxlade-Chamberlain made his first start in almost sixteen months, playing the first half of the UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea, which the Reds won on a penalty shootout. Three days later, the Englishman made his first League start of the campaign, starting in central midfield in a 2-1 win away to Southampton. On 15 September 2019, Oxlade-Chamberlain made his 50th appearance for Liverpool, starting in a 3-1 win over Newcastle. This was also his first Anfield start in almost seventeen months. Over the next few weeks, he continued to pop in and out of the starting XI, not impressing enough to claim a regular starting place. After almost a month without starting, Oxlade-Chamberlain made his first Champions League appearance since his injury, starting in a 4-1 win away to Genk. The midfielder grabbed a brace, opening the scoring early with a deflected strike from the edge of the box, before firing in a spectacular strike with the outside of his foot. A week later, Chamberlain started against his former club for the first time, and scored a fine volley in a 5-5 draw, before the Reds progressed on penalties. On 5 November 2019, he continued his great run of form, netting the winner against Genk in the Champions League, with a fine left-footed finish. On 7 December 2019, Chamberlain scored his first Premier League goal in almost two years, opening the scoring in a 3-0 win away to Bournemouth. On 29 January, he grabbed his second of the campaign, finishing off a smooth counter-attack to net Liverpool’s second in a 2-0 win at West Ham. Three days later, Chamberlain scored his second in as many games, firing in an impressive opener in a 4-0 win over Southampton. Honours Liverpool *UEFA Champions League: 1 (2019) *FIFA Club World Cup: 1 (2019) *UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2019) Individual *Liverpool Goal of the Season: 1 (2017-18: vs Manchester City, 4 April 2018) *Standard Chartered Player of the Month: 1 (October 2019) Stats External links * Category:Current Players Category:Midfielders